Nyungwe Forest National Park

Nyungwe Forest National Park is one of the top national parks in Rwanda that travellers who do visit Rwanda on Rwanda safari tours. Nyungwe Forest National Park, also known as Nyungwe National Park Rwanda contributes greatly to the tourist flow in Rwanda, giving travelers an alternative tourist destination, especially for chimpanzee trekking safaris. Nyungwe Forest National Park is famous for the chimpanzees that inhabit the park, with about 60 chimpanzees in two groups habituated for chimpanzee tracking in Nyungwe Forest National Park, making Rwanda chimpanzee safaris possible and available all throughout the year.

Nyungwe Forest National Park

Nyungwe Forest, which makes part of the Nyungwe Forest National Park is the largest afro-montane forest in Africa. Nyungwe Forest National Park was gazetted s a national park in Rwanda in 2004, protecting over 75 species of animals.

Nyungwe National Park Location

Nyungwe Forest National Park is located in the south western region of Rwanda near the border with Burundi, just south of Lake Kivu and west of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Nyungwe Forest National Park is found in Rusizi district. The headquarters of Nyungwe National Park is Uwinka, the start of most activities in the park. Nyungwe National Park is found along the western Great Rift Valley which stretches from Lake Albert to Lake Tanganyika as well.

Attractions in Nyungwe Forest National Park

There are a variety of attractions in Nyungwe Forest National Park that travellers can see and encounter while on a Rwanda safari tour in the park. Below are the various attractions in Nyungwe National Park;

Chimpanzees

Nyungwe National Park chimpanzees are the top attraction in the park, and the very reason that many travellers do visit Nyungwe National Park.

Primates in Nyungwe Forest National Park

There are 13 primates in Nyungwe National Park that travelers can see if primate tracking is something you could do and be interested in. apart from chimpanzees, the other primates in Nyungwe Forest National Park include silver monkeys, golden monkeys, Hamlyn’s monkey, grey cheeked mangabey, red-tailed monkey, vervet monkeys, olive baboon, blue monkeys, dent’s Mona monkey and the Angolan Colobus Monkeys. This makes Nyungwe National Park a perfect destination for primate safaris including chimpanzee tracking.

Nyungwe Forest National Park
chimpanzee trekking in Nyungwe Forest National Park

Nyungwe National Park animals

There are other animals in Nyungwe National Park that travellers spot while on various activities in the park, apart from the primates. Nyungwe National Park inhabits over 75 species of mammals, which travellers can spot while in the park, including several antelope species like bushbucks and duikers, cerval cat, leopards and the Congo clawless otter among others..

Plants found in Nyungwe National Park

Botanists who do visit Nyungwe National Park shall be amazed by the diversity in the park, with about 1068 plant species and 140 orchids, which date back to thousands of years.

Birds

Nyungwe Forest National Park Birds are one of the reasons for visiting Nyungwe National Park. There are over 300 species of birds recorded to inhabit Nyungwe National Park Rwanda, of which 16 species are endemics, 27 bird species Albertine rift endemics and about 121 forest species all which travellers keen on bird watching safaris in Rwanda can spot. The various Nyungwe National Park birds that you may spot on birding safaris in the park include the Chestnut Owlet, Olive and Elliot’s woodpeckers, white-headed wood-hoopoe, long-tailed cuckoo, archer’s robin chat, collared appalis, among so many others.

Nyungwe National Park Activities

Chimpanzee tracking

What to bring for chimpanzee tracking in nyungwe Forest National Park

Chimpanzee tracking in Nyungwe Forest National Park is the most sought after activity in the park, taking travellers through the dense pristine rainforest. Given the vegetation cover and terrain in Nyungwe Forest National Park, one needs to consider bringing essential items for chimpanzee tracking and they include long sleeved shirts and trousers with jungle and animal friendly colours like khaki, hiking boots with a good grip and preferably waterproof, sunscreen, insect repellent creams, a sun hat among others.

Canopy walk

Nyungwe Forest National Park canopy walk is one of the best activities to do in the park. Nyungwe Forest National Park canopy walk is one of its kind, suspended over the tree tops in the park giving travelers an opportunity to catch the best aerial views of the canopy in Nyungwe Forest. The Nyungwe Forest National Park canopy walk hangs at 60m above the forest floor.

Nyungwe Forest National Park
Canopy walks in Nyungwe Forest National Park

Nature walks/hiking

Nature walks in Nyungwe Forest National Park are a great activity that see travellers exploring the park extensively on foot. There are a number of Nyungwe National Park trails that travellers can use to explore the park, totalling to about 15 trails in Nyungwe National Park leading to various hidden gems in the park. The Nyungwe National Park trails take travellers through diverse landscapes with very scenic views. Nature walks in Nyungwe Forest National Park can take anything from a few hours to several hours or even days, say on the Congo-Nile divide trail which is about 227km.

Community tours

Community tours in Nyungwe Forest National Park are a great add on to your travel itinerary for a Rwanda safari tour in Nyungwe Forest National Park. Community tours have you engaging in the Rwandan culture with the various communities around the park boundaries, who have co-existed with the forest for years. You shall also get an opportunity to visit the various tea plantations around the park.

How to get to Nyungwe Forest National Park

Nyungwe National Park can be accessed by both air and road. By road, it is about 230km from Kigali to Nyungwe National Park, taking roughly 5 hours of road drive only. The drive from Kigali to Nyungwe National Park is quite scenic and rewarding, with a number of en-route activities that tourists can do say visiting the Nyanza King’s Palace at Nyabisindu which is a great place for insightful information about the Kingdom of Rwanda. For those travellers who would rather spend short transfer times, getting to nyungwe National Park by air is an option, with available charter flights to the park.

When to visit Nyungwe National Park

Nyungwe Forest National Park can be visited all throughout the year, but waterproof clothing is recommended because rains could fall at any time. The best time to visit Nyungwe National Park is however during the dry season when the park is much drier and accessible. The dry season falls in the months of June to September and December to February when the roads to the park and the paths inside the park are not slippery and muddy. For birding safaris however, the best time to visit Nyungwe National Park is during the wet season.

Nyungwe Forest National Park Accommodation

There are a variety of accommodation in Nyungwe Forest National Park that tourists intending to visit Nyungwe National Park can stay in whilst enjoying the various activities in the park. some of the Nyungwe Forest National Park accommodation you can choose from to stay while on your chimpanzee tracking Rwanda safari tour include the One & Only Nyungwe House, Nyungwe Top View Lodge, Gisakura Guesthouse among others.

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